Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act

The Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act (UEVHPA) is model legislation developed in 2006 by the Uniform Law Commission. States enacting this model bill recognize during a declared emergency the licensure of physicians and health practitioners in other states if those professionals have registered with a public or private registration system. This permits those professionals to enter the state and provide services without having to seek a license in the state where the emergency has been declared, greatly increasing access to care during a critically difficult situation where licensure boards may be swamped with requests or may be non-functioning due to the disaster.

The Board of Governors in 2007 directed American College of Surgeons (ACS) State Affairs to work for passage of the UEVHPA in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the bill is also supported by the Committee on Trauma. In October 2008, the ACS Board of Regents adopted a statement in support of the model bill.

States that have enacted UEVHPA model legislation include:

Arkansas (2009)

Colorado (2007)

District of Columbia (2010)

Illinois (2010)

Indiana (2008)

Kentucky (2007)

Louisiana (2009)

Nevada (2011)

New Mexico (2008)

North Dakota (2009)

Oklahoma (2009)

Oregon (2009)

Tennessee (2007)

Texas (2013)

Utah (2008)

The following items are useful documents when Fellows and/or Chapters advocate with their state legislators on behalf of the UEVHPA. Questions about the UEVHPA, along with requests for further information or assistance with advocacy initiatives, may be sent to tleystra@facs.org.